The Words of the Kim Family from 2009 and 2010
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The Words of the Kim Family from 2009 and 2010 |
The World Headquarters Church of Unificationism has established a new church (Yongsan Church) on Hangnang Ro in Yongsan Gu, and held a dedication ceremony on the 21st, thereby adding to the stability of the group's second generation regime.
Rev. Hyung Jin Moon, 31, 7th son of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, is overall responsible for the spiritual aspects of Unificationism, having been installed as senior pastor of the World Headquarters Church in Cheongpa Dong, Yongsan Gu, in December 2007, and then made international president and president for Korea in April 2008 and then becoming world chairman of the Universal Peace Federation and the Youth Federation for World Peace.
Prior to this, Rev. Moon's 4th son, Kook Jin Moon, 40, was appointed as chairman of the Foundation for the Support of HSA-UWC, and given responsibility for the business aspects of Unificationism. In this way, Unificationism's second generation regime for religion and business have become apparent.
According to Unificationism, Rev. Hyung Jin Moon's bring an end to the era of the Cheongpa Dong church, which was the group's first headquarters church, and opening the era of the Yongsan Church signifies that the second generation succession regime that had already been set is now in full operation. It means that he has become spiritual leader, both in name and in fact, to not just the approximately 300,000 members in 210 churches around Korea but also of the 1,000 missionaries sent to 192 countries and the some three million believers in those countries.
Rev. Hyung Jin Moon has officiated in a number of International Holy Marriage Ceremonies. These are the most important ceremonies of Unificationism, which considers true families to be the core of its faith. Prior to this, Rev. Sun Myung Moon had been the only person to officiate at these events.
According to Unificationism, Hyun Jin Moon is more than just his father's son. In two years, he has shown exceptional abilities in evangelism, organization and vision. At a meeting between Hyun Jin Moon and reporters on the 18th, the Yongsan Church revealed that its membership had grown from 612 just after Hyun Jin Moon's arrival as senior pastor to 9,310 at the beginning of 2010. Monetary offerings increased during the same period from approximately 36 million won a month to 230 million won a month. Speaking to reporters during this meeting, Hyung Jin Moon said, "We hired an expert in organization and replaced the old style of managing by guesswork. In the Headquarters Church, too, we introduced a new administrative system that separated evangelism from operations.
The unique background of Hyung Jin Moon, who graduated in philosophy from Harvard University, and received his PhD. from Harvard in comparative religions, also has been the focus of attention. In 2005, prior to beginning his evangelical career, he met the Venerable Beopjang, who was then head of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, and the Tibetan leader Dali Lama. Since his inauguration, Rev. Moon has met Ven. Dorim Beopjeon, supreme patriarch of the Jogye Order, and other religious leaders. He also offers meditations and prayers many mornings at Jogye Temple and the Myungdong Cathedral.
"The Yongsan Church is an intermediate step toward constructing a larger temple where a Buddhist temple, a Christian church and an Islamic mosque will exist together in complete harmony," Rev. Hyung Jin Moon said. "I plan to complete the mission given to me by my father to "use the new temple to create a path to peace where the world can transcend religion so as to communicate and come together in harmony," he said.
The Yongsan Church, with one floor below ground and four floors above ground, has 8,300 square meters of total floor space. On the first floor, it will exhibit paintings of Jesus, Shakyamuni and Confucius, as well as a painting symbolizing Islam.